Printing mechanism



1953 B. K. SLONNEGER 2,628,557

A PRINTING MECHANISM Filed July 14, 1950 INVENTOR BRUCE K. SLONNEGER I E HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 17, 1953 Tlie Natiohaliflash Register (ioinpanfibayton, 0hi o, a corporation of Maryland Application July 14,

6 Claims.

h s invention ma s to r ntinsmechen m or r ntin -ode. ap en ntesilab he P r ipalobie t of the n enti tomevide a printing device for printing supplemental data;.-pn alabel issued by a'printing machine,

supplemental data on a preprintjed label,

printing mechanism being actuated as the label isgremoved fromthemachine in which the label preprin e With these and incidental objects in yiew the inyentionincludes certain not el ieatures of constructiQ n andcombinations oi parts apref erred v r imsmhod n p w i his hamleten s sQr; ed withreierence to the drawing which acom an e and orm r rt lis s fi rn Fig. 1 is across sectional view taken on line l- -zl of, Fig, 4, showing the printing mechanism in unoperated position, and shows the delivery chutefrom which-the preprinted label is issued,'

together with the knife for cutting the preprinted;

labehfrom a strip of recordmaterial,

Fig. 2 is a facsimile showing the preprinted labeland the supplemental; data printed thereon.

Fig. 3 is a-sectional view of thefsupplemental I data printing mechanism of Fig. -1 in the printing Position.

Fig. 4 is a perspectiveiew of the supplemental U data printing mechanism.

Fig; 5 is; atop plan viewof the -supplemental data' printing mechanism.

Fig fi is a detail view of an insertable printing memb'en;

Fig. 'Hs a; deta;il cross sectionalview; taken on.--

line Fl -I of General, description In self-serv-ice groceries and meat markets meat and-- produce vare prepackaged; Wei hed;

priced,:and labeled, so that the customer. s ect n a package of food can :select the amount kind and price of food desired. One oigthe problems;

in this method, of marketing was -to provide a legible label Without the necessity of; hand a written entries, Which method of producing labels; was slow-and time-consuming, thus adding to the;

cost of merchandising the goods. Hand-written labels have the undesirable ieatureoi. being pro duc ed without any correlated records, isodth-at er; rors are easily made, with resultingilosslto both the merchant and thecustomer.

Some merchants --purchase labels. zwhich are:v

1950, .Serial .N0.- 173,76Q

(Cl. lot-(2.9 8)

amens-t se price hand-writt et inee 9i s sh i si t rs i tz ecgr n and 'accumulate data necessary for an accurate wnt'rel; n mer ha chines ordi n an sing, but, while fsuch a sold to meet the present requirements. A machine of this class is illustratedinUnited States Patent Nb. 1,816,263, issuedltq ,WiHiam I-I RQ it wfi wn'v Ju 8 v-: he P e en inv fie i..- is illustrated asad aptedlto the.machine di sclosed in that patent,. but it is not restricted to ,u ewim ,5. sucha machine; Ther'nachine illustrated in the: Robertson patent has, a keyboard hauing, ledger-j numberkeys in addition ,to the usual ainountg keys. Foruse, in the vpresent system, thekey printin this data ,onv the ticket, .which forms label, The totalizer construction isiurther mo ifiedby the provision of whatis known in theart as a fsplit totalizer, so that separateitotals can of goods ,for whichv labels are produced In use, for example. whenha'm is, beingpack-v e' ihe buW nbuthe .ham,a QW hslthes cut on a. computing. scale then ,set s u the r l i un and t r q Gnt Q ard o h,

eeisterieiid t erea terl eleesfe the a wi dur es awhiqhe ebsl1 mg a, sue lw iqhlwb t e .d ta setu with; manti -Frin e lse P a ise s entere n the;

40 totalizers of eases: 4 w at con ro ev t e. msche d seiaqke eda The label is sue d byuthe machine gives the custome? a legible ans l c i e e st i men amount and price oi goods purcha Howe the labelproduced by,.the cash. reglster doe n prebrintedwith-the name ofthe commodity to be a g prot'idetlfor issuing a t'ick"t. showing the amount of sale-iand the quantitiesofj goods, they do not provide a means for printing Q a suflicient number of names of the kind of goods" boefd is m d by util ins e. l er. w. uinl ze t keys for setting up the weight of the goods and be accumulated for determininglthe tqtalyollu prin t thename of the (goods, Thepresent inyen ,L ion s d fi a wi e i qd' orintip izss ame f de n e ,lebfliswdiby heme chines I The novel printing;mechanism ls loqated 3 ment of the printing mechanism and pull the ticket upwardly and forwardly in a natural movement. At this time, an imprint is made on the label from an insertable printing element.

To provide for the vast number of items to be packaged, a separate insertable printing element is provided for each kind of goods to be packaged. In packaging goods, a varying amount of goods of a selected class is packaged at one time before another kind of goods is packaged. Therefore it is only necessary to change a printing element when a different kind of goods is to be packaged.

To provide a simple mechanism, having a minimum number of parts, a porous rubber printing element is used, which printing element is charged with ink sufflcient to produce hundreds of impressions without being reinked. This type of printing element may be made by the process described in United States Patent No. 2,353,877, issued to Robert G. Chollar on July 18, 1944. The use of a printing member made by the abovementioned process makes an ink ribbon or other inking mechanism unnecessary in the machine, resulting in a simplified mechanism. The printing members are recharged With ink, when not in use, by being stored in the proximity of a reservoir, as is well known. Also a porous rubber printing element of this type effects a legible impression by very light pressure, so that no printing blow or hard squeeze operation is necessary.

Detailed description The invention consists of a unitary structure mounted on a cabinet of a label-issuing machine, such as, for example, that shown in the above-mentioned Robertson patent. The cabinet IU of such a machine is provided with a slot l I, through which a label I2 is fed. As disclosed in said patent, the web of paper is fed through a chute l3, through an opening 14 in a. stationary knife blade l5, and thence through an opening l6 of a movable knife blade H. The

opening l6 registers with the opening 14 when the web is fed by the machine, and, after the web is fed the proper distance, the movable knife I! is shifted to the left (Fig. l) to sever the label [2 from the web and leave the lower end of the label resting on the stationary blade [5. The upper end of the label is at this time within a receptacle of the novel printing mechanism, whence it can be removed by the operator in a manner described later, At this time, the label has printed thereon all the data illustrated in Fig. 2, except the word Ham, or any other name designating the commodity being packaged.

To effect the printing of the name of the commodity on the issued label, a printing member I8 is removably mounted in a channel formed by a pair of Z-bars I9, and the printing member I8 is secured to a plate 20, the two sides of which plate are slidably engaged with the 2- bars I9 in such a manner that the plate can be easily inserted or removed. The Z-bars 19 are secured to the under side of a pivoted member 2|, hinged on the cabinet In by a hinge plate 22 and a hinge pin 23. The pivoted member 2! has two hinge knuckles 24 formed on its forward end, coacting with the hinge pin 23, by means of which the member 2| can pivot. The rearward end of the member 2| also has two hinge knuckles 25 formed thereon. A pair of hinge knuckles 26 are formed on a pivoted finger piece 21, and one section of a rod 28, bent in the form of a rectangle, passes through the knuckles 25 and 26, forming a hinge pin on which the member 2| and the flnger piece 21 can pivot. A spring 29, coiled around the rod 28, having one end bearing against the member 2| and its other end bearing against the finger piece 21, normally holds the ends of the finger piece 21 in contact with flanges 30 on a vertically-disposed flange 3| (Figs. 1 and 4) of a printing platen 32. The center section of the flange is cut away to provide an opening for the operators fingers when he operates the printing means, and to provide access to the label l2 when it is being removed, in the manner hereinafter described.

The member 2| and the printing plate 32 are connected together by the rod 28, one section of which passes through three knuckles 33, formed on the platen 32, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. As before mentioned, the rod is bent in the form of a rectangle and acts as hinge pins coacting with the knuckles 25 and 33, thus connecting the member 2! and the platen 32 together, as shown in Fig. 5. The rear end of the platen 32 is provided with two loops 34, in each of which is secured a rod 35, and each rod 35 extends beyond the respective side of the platen to enter a guideway formed by plates 36 flanged inwardly over the ends of the rods 35. The plates 36 are sultably spaced and are secured to the top of the cabinet I!) and are located in parallel relation to each other to provide a guideway for the rods 35 and the platen 32.

To normally provide a means for maintaining the printing means in the normal position, illustrated in'F-ig. l, a spring 31, or any other resilient means, can be provided. As illustrated, the spring 31 is secured to one end of a cable 38, which cable passes over a pulley 39, and the other end of the cable is attached to a clip 40 on the platen 32. The platen 32 is suitably notched as at 4| (Fig. 7) to provide clearance for the cable. The end of the spring 31, opposite the end to which the cable 38 is attached, is secured to the framework of the label-printing machine.

To arrest the movement of the parts in home position, a block 42 is secured to the top ofthe cabinet ID, on which the plate [9 rests when in home position.

Operation Upon completion of the operation of the labelissuing machine, the label l2, having all the dataprinted thereon except the name of the commodity, shown in Fig. 2, is resting on the knife blade l5 and extends upwardly between the finger piece 21 and the flange32, as shown in Fig. 1. To print the name of the commodity, the operator first selects a desired printing member l8 and inserts it into the channel formed by the two Z-bars I9. This selection is made from a group of from 250 to 300 names, which are used in the average super-market for prepackaged meat alone.

After the selected printing member [8 has been properly positioned and a label has been issued by the cash register, the operator grasps the upper end of the label l2 and impinges it against the finger piece 21. This is usually done by use of the forefinger and the thumb, the thumb resting on the outer face of the plate 21 and the forefinger resting on the rear face of the label. Thereafter, the operator pulls the flngerpiece 21 and the label [2 forwardly and upwardly, which pivots the member 2| around the hinge pin 23 and carries thev re teheularlrdeemed ehheetihe red 28 therewith an he atter, be n ee e e o he laten 3 ea es the laten 3, the e ith- Th ath it mo ement e-f t e pla 3 s se n d by the reds 35 iding n ra h h and controlled by the plates 35. As the mem ber 2| and the platen 32 approach the limit of their movements, the label will be impinged between thhe printing member 18 and the platen 32 by a slight pressure, as illustrated in Fig, 3, which causes an impression to be made on the label; During this operation, the spring 31 is ehei he and, upon r a it he me ber 2L the parts are returned to home positions by the spr n 31. t t ime, the member 2! ai comes to rest on the block 42 and the spring 29 holds the finger piece against the flanges St, in which position the printing label is removed and the printing means is again in position to receive the next label.

In the normal use, the printing member {8 will remain on the member 2! for a plurality of operations, since meat of one kind is packaged until the desired number of sizes and packages or a particular kind have been processed. Therefore it becomes necessary to change a printing memher only when a different kind of meat is to be processed.

The invention is illustrated for use in connece tion with a cash register of the type shown in the I aforementioned Robertson patent. However, it is apparent that any other ticket-printing machine can be adapted for use therewith, or the novel mechanism can be constructed as a printis un enti el in e endent f y eli 't-pitih ns a hine in wh h. ea e. the abe eah. he

serted into printing position by the operator.

While the form of mechanism shown and tiQ-r scribed herein is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form or embodiment disclosed herein, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various other forms.

What is claimed is:

i. In a device of the class described for printon record material, the combination of a pivoted member, a printing element on the pivoted member, a printing platen, means to support record material between the printing elemerit and the printing platen, a set of hinge knuckles on the free end of the pivoted member, a set of hinge knuckles located on one end of the printing platen, a device engaging both sets of hinge knuckles to connect the pivoted member to the printing platen whereby the printing platen is moved by the pivoted member when the pivoted member is operated, a stationary guideway disposed. on a straight line, projections on the printing platen located on the end opposite the end on which the hinge knuckles are located an the printing platen and extending into the guideway to provide a sliding and pivoting connection with the guideway, said projections movable in the guideway when the printing platen operated by the pivoted member, to guide one end of the printing platen in a straight line while the said device causes the printing platen to pivot on the projections within the guideway to cause the printing platen to impinge the record material against the printing element to effect a printed impression on the record material, a finger piece on the pivoted member adjacent to which the record material is normally positioned, a stop on the printing platen, and means to nor- 6 reallyhe thee: pieeein eng ement wi h t step te l ate the f n r hieeedia en the recess, materiel, whereb the f n er iece an the rec rd materie be s mu ta eous y ras ed t mal al y op rate he pi ote m mand t e min hg ate and o a ry. t e e erd materia h with,

2-, In a d ice a the c ass de ribed for p n ng on eeerd m terial, the com i a n o a p ted member rint n el men on the pivot member, rint n platen meansto supp r re rd mate i l, be ween the ri el nt an he Print n plten, a t o hihee knu kl s o the re nd ef. t e i o d. m mber, a s o h n knuckles located on one end of the printing ate a d ice en a in th s ts o in uckles e eehh et t e pi ote memb r to the Print ng laten wh re the rin n platen is me ed hrthe pi oted. e e wh n the pi ote membet i er retee a at ona e deway di posed h a. str ight l ne reiee iene h the rin ng; platen leeet d en the nd p os e he en ehih eh e hing Kn e are e ed en th printing platen and extending into the guideway to Pro id a sl din and pivoting connec i n wit h ehidewem. sa d pro c ions mo ab e in th guideway wh n the ntin p aten i er t d y he piv ted member, to guide one en i th rinti aten i e strai ht l n wh le h sai ic causes he prin ng pl ten to hi e on th p o ect ns i hin he e iidewer o; us th ristine p a en t mping the i'e erd ma eri aga nst h P ntin elemen to, e ieet. a printe impress on en. he r'eeer mat rial! a fin er piece h e i e ed. membe a ace t t wh h h record ma r al s henh l r heei ehe a ste n h ri tin p ates, mean te rmall mainte-ih the heei? h ee n en agement i h h step to l cat d he fin er iece a j cent the e 'd r el, er by the finger i ce n t rec r mat ia can imult neou l ra e to nua ly e er e th piveted m mr nd he inti g plat n a d e ear-tr the recerd, ma al there ith, n resili nt mean o store e i ed m r n the pri tin h t h to heir uneh e d po io after th impression has been made and the record material removed.

3, n le e of. he a s de rib d t r print 1 5' OR 17 00 ma er e h c m inat n h pivoted member, a printing element on the pivoted member, a printing platen, means to support record material between the printing element and the printing platen, a set of hinge knuckles on the free end of the pivoted member, a set of hinge knuckles located on one end of the printing platen, a device engaging both sets of hinge knuckles to connect the pivoted member to the printing platen whereby the printing platen is moved by the pivoted member when the pivoted member is operated, a stationary guideway disposed on a straight line, projections on the printing platen located on the end opposite the end on which the hinge knuckles are located on the printing platen and extending into the guideway to provide a sliding and pivoting connection with the guideway, said projections movable in the guideway when the printing platen is operated by the pivoted member, to guide one end of the printing platen in a straight line while the said device causes the printing platen to pivot on the projections within the guideway to cause the printing platen to impinge the record material against the printing element to effect a printed impression on the record material, a finger piece 7 on the pivoted member adjacent to which the record material is normally positioned, a stop on the printing platen, means to normally maintain the finger piece in engagement with the stop to locate the finger piece adjacent the record material, whereby the finger piece and the record material can be simultaneously grasped to manually operate the pivoted member and the printing platen and to carry the record material therewith, resilient means to restore the pivoted member and the printing platen to their unoperated positions after the impression has been made :and the record material removed, and a stationary stop to arrest the pivoted member in said normal position.

4. In a device of the class described for print ing on record material, the combination of a pivoted member, a printing element on the pivoted member, a printing platen, means to support record material between the pivoted member and the printing platen, means to connect the pivoted member to the printing platen whereby the printing platen is moved by the pivoted member, a stationary guideway, projections on the printing platen extending into the guideway to guide the printing platen when moved by the pivoted member to cause the printing platen to impinge the record material against the printing element to thereby make an impression on the record material, a finger piece on the pivoted member adjacent to the record material when the latter is between the pivoted member and the printing platen, a stop on the printing platen, and means to normally maintain the finger piece in engagement with the stop to locate the finger piece adjacent the record material, whereby the pivoted member and the record material can be grasped to be manually moved together.

5. In a device of the class described for printing on record material, the combination of a pivoted member, a printing element on the pivoted member, a printing platen, means to support record material between the pivoted member and the printing platen, a rectangularly-formed device connected to the pivoted member and the printing platen whereby the printing platen is moved by the pivoted member when the pivoted member is operated, a stationary guideway. projections on the printing platen extending into the guideway to guide the printing platen when moved by the pivoted member to cause the printing platen to impinge the record material against the printing element to thereby make an impression on the record material, a finger piece pivoted on the rectangularly-Iormed device, a stop on the printing platen, and resilient means to normally maintain the finger piece in engagement with the stop to arrest the finger piece adjacent the record material, whereby the finger piece and the record material can be simultaneously grasped to operate the pivoted member, said finger piece following the path of movement of the stop as the pivoted member is operated around its pivot.

6. In a device of the class described for printing on record material, a pivoted member, a printing member on the pivoted member. a printing platen normally disposed at an obtuse angle in respect to the pivoted member, a fiange on said platen formed at an obtuse angle with respect to the operating face of the printing platen, a stop on the flange, a finger piece pivotally mounted on the pivoted member, a resilient means to normally maintain the finger piece in contact with the stop, said stop being of a length to space the finger piece from the fiange a distance sutficient to material is fed, means to support the record material in said slot, means to connect the pivoted member to the printing member, and a stationary guide to guide one end of the platen when the platen is operated, said platen being operated manually by grasping the finger piece and the record material and rocking the pivoted member around its pivot and through the means to connect the pivoted member to the printing platen operating the latter, said guide causing the printing platen to move into parallel relationship with the printing element to effect an impression on the record material.

BRUCE K. SLONNEGER.

f file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 155,315 Lamb et al Sept. 22, 1874 526,248 Maurer Sept. 18, 1894 provide a slot through which record- 

